In Which
by Lihau
Summary: In which Yong-ha shoots his mouth off, thereby saving this story from having no plot whatsoever. Pairings: Yoon-hee x Seon-joon, some most-likely-one-sided Yong-ha x Jae-shin.
1. Chapter One

A/N 1: This story takes place not too long after the series finale, so "here be spoilers" and all that.

A/N 2: On the odd chance that you're a reader of one of my incomplete stories, I'm sooo sorry for not finishing them! (I'd kind of like to continue "The Birthday Mystery", but I don't have any ideas so… I fail.) This one, however, is all pre-written so, barring any unexpected lack of access to a computer or my USB, this one will be posted in its entirety, one chapter a week.

Disclaimer: Considering this is a **fan** fiction… yeah, I own nothing. In a fit of overconfidence, however, I did do the cover. (O, Yong-ha's hands! O, Yoon-hee's sleeves! O, half a dozen other things that went horribly awry! _Weeps softly_.)

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**Chapter One:**

**In Which the Jalgeum Quartet Visits a Seedy Tavern and Seon-joon is Displeased**

"I think she stole my money."

Off-duty Officer Moon Jae-shin's ears perked up a bit as he rested—head down, eyes closed—at a table in an only _slightly_ seedy tavern.

"Yes, she definitely stole my money."

His ears perked back down again as soon as he recognized the voice as belonging to one Lee Seon-joon, who sat across from him at the table. The eyelids he had begun to lift fell closed again as his interest in this apparent crime also fell, and he readjusted his arms to make them a more comfortable pillow for his head.

"Senior, I'd hate to cause a scene but, considering you're a police officer, it might be easier if you could get it back for me instead of my trying to do it myself."

Jae-shin gave a quiet sigh over having been disturbed but dutifully opened his eyes, keeping his head cradled in his arms as he shifted his gaze to the Sungkyunkwan professor. "You probably won't miss that money all that much. The people have to make a living somehow, don't they?"

Seon-joon pulled an irritated face. "I suppose they do, but does _their_ living really have to involve the confiscation of _my_ living? I'm a paying customer here. Why should she take more than I owe her?" Apparently feeling as though he'd made his point, he reiterated, "I'd appreciate your help in getting it back."

The officer closed his eyes. "I don't want to. But I officially give you my official permission to get it back yourself. Just don't break any bones."

A softer voice piped up, "Did you want me to try and get it back?"

Jae-shin snapped to attention, sitting up at the sound of Kim Yoon-hee's voice coming from the chair next to Seon-joon. He'd almost forgotten what he was doing at the tavern in the first place: having a drink and a light meal with his friends. (Yoon-hee was, of course, in drag to give them greater freedom in where they could hang out.) His senses had just returned enough for him to begin a reply when someone sitting next to him beat him to it.

"Ehh, you don't have to, Dae-mul," Gu Yong-ha protested. "I'll go get it." He stood up and straightened out his sleeves. "The conversation around here was starting to lag anyway. Really—you good lords have been incredibly dull this evening. Try to lift the mood a bit when I come back so I don't get bored again, hmmm?"

Before leaving, Yong-ha winked at Professor "Yoon-shik" and patted the top of her hat-wearing head, prompting both Seon-joon and Jae-shin to fix the merchant with evil glares. Yong-ha's smile widened at the gratifying reaction and he waltzed off to the other end of the tavern to see its allegedly thieving proprietress.

Once he'd finished glaring, Jae-shin looked to Seon-joon. "I would've done it eventually if Yeo-rim hadn't volunteered."

"Well, it was Senior Yong-ha's idea to come here," Yoon-hee chipped in. "Considering he knew what kind of a place this was and what kind of owner it had, it's not entirely unreasonable for him to take some responsibility for it."

Jae-shin blinked. "Yeah. That's why I didn't do it." That, and he still wasn't quite as buddy-buddy with Seon-joon as Yoon-hee may have liked. Mostly the latter, though.

"I still don't see why we have to come to places like this," Seon-joon remarked. He said to Jae-shin, "You're closest to him, Senior. Can't you convince him to pick somewhere that's nicer next time?"

Yoon-hee added cheerfully, "Or you two could just come visit Seon-joon and me at home sometimes. I can absolutely guarantee that nobody will get robbed!"

Seon-joon looked less than ecstatic at the prospect of Jae-shin and Yong-ha invading his and Yoon-hee's little love-nest, so Jae-shin naturally grinned and agreed that Dae-mul's idea was a good one. That grin was wiped away and he gave a sharp yelp when someone suddenly cuffed him on the back of the head.

"Aigo!" the head-smacker groaned. "What kind of lousy cop are you? First you refuse to retrieve a victim's stolen money, and then you don't notice someone sneaking up behind you to assault the back of your head!"

Jae-shin bolted to his feet, chair scraping loudly, and raised his hand, prompting Yong-ha to duck back before grinning, knowing that the "crazy horse" wouldn't actually hit him.

"Hey, Ka-rang." Yong-ha tossed a small bag to the spot of table in front of Seon-joon and reclaimed his chair beside Jae-shin. "I hereby return your ill-gotten gains. I took a couple of coins for a finder's fee."

Seon-joon raised his eyebrows but thanked the finder for his efforts. As soon as Yong-ha's attention was focused on pouring himself a drink, however, the professor discreetly peered into the bag to see just how much was now missing. He couldn't help but blurt out, "You took half my money!"

"So what? You wouldn't have _any_ of your money if it hadn't been for me! Besides, I deserve it, considering how much I had to flatter that ugly woman to get it back for you." He shuddered dramatically.

"You volunteered to do it, Senior," Yoon-hee pointed out. "I wouldn't have minded going."

Jae-shin, who'd been standing and glowering down at Yong-ha this whole time, finally sat down again to say to his oldest friend, "Give it back before I arrest you for robbery."

Yong-ha pouted but, since he'd already planned to return the money as soon as he'd had some fun, obediently slid the missing coins across the table to Seon-joon. "Aish, give a hoodlum some authority and he's still a hoodlum. This is an abuse of power, Geol-oh! I'll file a complaint in the morning."

"Yeah, sure you will."

Seon-joon cut in, "How'd you get it back, anyway? You just had to flatter her a little?"

"'Just'?" Yong-ha echoed. "I'm Gu Yong-ha! I don't _just_ flatter people—I've made it an art-form!"

Yoon-hee generously humored him. "Then was practicing your art-form the only thing you had to do, Senior?"

"Pretty much." The artist smiled.

Seon-joon, more than a little wary of that smile, pressed, "What does that mean?"

"Well, I told her she was wonderful and beautiful and delicate and kind… and that the handsome young man she'd been clumsily attempting to flirt with earlier would be _thrilled_ to meet her here tomorrow night." Grin. "Privately."

"What?" Seon-joon leaned forward to whisper loudly, "But I'm married!"

"So? A lot of married men have a little something-something on the side."

"But my wife is right here!"

"Ah, duly noted, Ka-rang." He leaned in with an ever-widening smirk, which he conspiratorially concealed from Yoon-hee with one hand, and winked. "So you'd be okay with it if she weren't here to see?"

"OF COURSE NOT!"

"Shhh! Your lovely date for tomorrow night will think you're trying to cancel."

"I'm not trying to cancel—I _am_ cancelling. It was your idea, Senior, so _you_ can come back here tomorrow night."

"Iiiiiiiiiiiick—but she's old enough to be my mother! Plus, she's so ugly! And besides that—" He slung an arm around Jae-shin's shoulders. "—I've got a very steamy date planned with Geol-oh for tomorrow night."

Yong-ha suddenly disappeared from view when Jae-shin pushed him harder than he'd expected, landing the merchant on the floor. Even Jae-shin was surprised, if his slack jaw was any indication.

"Owww, that hurts! Why can't this place have cushions on the floor instead of chairs? It's—it's unpatriotic or something." A hand popped up over the edge of the table and wriggled around to get attention. "Help me up!"

Jae-shin rolled his eyes but took the hand and yanked his supposed friend back up. He said as Yong-ha settled himself back on his chair, "Noron wanted me to tell you not to take us to a rat-hole like this again."

Seon-joon, feeling that something had been lost in translation, began, "I didn't quite put it like that—"

"Hey, Lee Seon-joon. Aren't I really nice today? You haven't noticed?"

Seon-joon set his jaw but, not in the mood to pick a fight, gave a shake of his head to acknowledge his senior's niceness.

Jae-shin turned back to Yong-ha. "So don't drag Dae-mul and him to this dump again."

Yong-ha shrugged. "Why? Nice places have no atmosphere—except for the gisaeng house." He looked at Seon-joon disapprovingly. "But this kid said he'd throw paint on all my clothes if I took Dae-mul there. He's got some nerve, hasn't he?"

Yoon-hee smiled and patted Seon-joon's knee under the table to keep him from freaking out as she said innocently, "I don't know why we shouldn't go there—the gisaengs serve very nice tea. And their house is cleaner than it is around here. Honestly, we'd probably be better off there."

Seon-joon leaned over to whisper, "I know you're joking, but you still shouldn't encourage him."

Yong-ha, clearly already encouraged, concurred, "Yes, it was quite enjoyable the last time we visited, wasn't it, Dae-mul?"

Face contorting into a shocked expression, Seon-joon choked out, "Are you saying that you actually took her there?"

"Well, Geol-oh declined my invitation (as always) and I knew that asking you would be pointless, so—"

"We didn't go anywhere," Yoon-hee interrupted, patting Seon-joon's knee again to comfort him before he could _really_ spaz out. "Senior's just teasing you."

Seon-joon smiled in relief. "Thank goodness. If you'd actually gone, I'd have to meet with the proprietress here to make it even, and I think that would've hurt me more than it'd hurt you!"

Yoon-hee smiled back, and the married couple sat there staring at each other in wedded bliss until Jae-shin felt tempted to put someone's head—certainly not Yoon-hee's—through any wall that happened to be conveniently nearby and reasonably fragile.

Yong-ha would have been perfectly glad to enjoy the spouses' contented expressions (and mentally snicker at Seon-joon's puppy-dog face) a little longer, but he took pity on Geol-oh's thinning patience and instead pulled out his handkerchief to blow his nose as obnoxiously loudly as possible.

The other three stared with mixed disgust and disbelief as Yong-ha blew continually for nearly a minute. Once he finished, he put the remarkably clean square of fabric back in its place and looked around at the faces turned in his direction. "What? Seeing how happy Dae-mul and Ka-rang are made me all stuffed up. Oh, wait—it's supposed to be 'choked up', isn't it? Oops! My mistake! You can go back to making lovey-lovey eyes now."

As expected, Yoon-hee and Seon-joon did not appear at all inclined to resume their loving gaze.

"Go on, go on."

Yoon-hee smiled awkwardly. "Uh… no, thanks, Senior."

"Oh, did I ruin the moment for you guys? Oopsy…."

Jae-shin rolled his eyes. "Nice going. Now they're probably going to withdraw the invitation to visit their home."

"Ooh, when did that happen?" Yong-ha beamed to his juniors. "You invited us over?"

The professors opened their mouths at the same time:

"Yes." "No!"

They looked at each other, Yoon-hee with raised eyebrows and Seon-joon with furrowed ones, and Yong-ha decided, "I liked Dae-mul's answer better. Is tomorrow evening good for you? About the same time we met up tonight?"

Seon-joon began hesitantly, "That's a little…"

"Great! We'll be there!"

A couple of hours later, Yong-ha was clearly the drunkest one in the group and, when he tried to order yet another bottle to add to the six empty ones on the table, Jae-shin all but tackled his friend to cover his mouth.

Seon-joon called for the proprietress and asked how much they owed. Since Yoon-hee hadn't brought any amount of money worth mentioning, Jae-shin's hands were busily clamping Yong-ha's mouth shut, and Yong-ha's present ability to count money seemed dubious at best, Seon-joon paid the tab and pretended he didn't notice the proprietress winking at him.

They left as soon as the off-duty officer managed to haul the merchant off the floor and, once outside, Yoon-hee asked if he needed any help getting Yong-ha home. Seon-joon, knowing this was code for "I hereby offer you my husband's services", nodded his approval of this offer when Yong-ha tried to break free and wander after the first woman to pass by. This escape attempt failed, instead resulting in his yanking Jae-shin around in a small circle.

"It's fine," Jae-shin declined the offer. "You two can get going before it gets too much darker."

"Yes, our Geol-oh is very, very capable," Yong-ha chimed in, slurring his words only a bit. "You lovebirds can go on back to your cozy nest—hey, maybe it isn't cozy—actually, I wouldn't know. Why haven't you invited me?"

Yoon-hee reminded him, "We did invite you, Senior. You're coming over tomorrow."

_Because he practically invited himself_, Seon-joon thought. Aloud, he ignored Yong-ha's pout and said to Jae-shin, "If you're sure you can handle—"

Yong-ha again tried to stumble away, this time declaring that he was going to visit Dae-mul and Ka-rang's house right that very moment, and Jae-shin finally had enough of that and put his friend in a headlock.

"—that."

"It's fine. I'll see you again soon. Oh, and I'm going to be working during the day for a while. One of my seniors demanded I swap shifts with him. He got into a fight with his wife and doesn't want to have to go home at night, or something stupid like that."

Yoon-hee nodded. She dodged one of Yong-ha's flailing hands. "Alright, we'll see you later. Get home safely."

**To be continued…**

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Ah, it's always (well, sometimes) fun to write characters for the first time! The Yoon-hee and Jae-shin Muses tended to clam up a bit but would occasionally chip in with a few lines of their own. The Yong-ha Muse, on the other hand, absolutely refused to shut his face. And the Seon-joon Muse was _not helpful at all_. Seriously, I just can't seem to figure out how to write that guy so, if you continue reading, you can look forward to more poor characterization of Ka-rang! Yay!

Constructive criticism, glowing praise, or pretty much anything else is appreciated, so long as it isn't mean-spirited. Thanks for reading! :)

(Last edited: 8/26/13)


	2. Chapter Two

A/N: For those of you who haven't been completely scared away by the pure, unadulterated awfulness of Chapter One, I hereby present and hope that you more or less enjoy…

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**Chapter Two:**

**In Which the Meeting is Cancelled for No Particular Reason and Yong-ha Resorts to Bribery**

Something seemed off.

The day after Seon-joon was robbed at the tavern, Jae-shin had stopped by Sungkyunkwan to tell Yoon-hee that he wouldn't be able to make it over to her house that evening. She would have passed this off as no big deal and assumed that it was because he was tired or had extra work, but then Yong-ha had popped his head into one of her classes and said that he wouldn't be coming either. Since she didn't want to dismiss the class early or otherwise interrupt her lecture, she'd let him go without asking why.

The next day, Yoon-hee decided that she should find out why they'd both cancelled so suddenly, so she resolved to talk with Yong-ha and assigned Seon-joon the task of tracking down Jae-shin.

Seon-joon found the officer at the market and, noting that he appeared to be about to catch a criminal, waited a short distance away as Jae-shin grabbed the scrawny kid who was attempting not-so-subtly to steal some rice from a vendor. The officer held the would-be thief by the back of his collar, nearly lifting him off the ground.

"Are you stupid or something? Didn't you even notice there was a cop right next to you?"

"N-n-n-no, sir!"

"Good work, Officer!" the vendor exclaimed. "These kids are always trying to steal from me! Bunch of good-for-nothing, grubby-handed little thieves, the lot of them!"

Jae-shin, still holding up the squirming culprit, looked to the vendor. "Hey, do you have any chores?"

"…What?"

"You know, relatively small things that need doing. Got any of those?"

"Well, of course," the vendor laughed. "Doesn't everyone?"

"Then let this kid do a couple."

The kid and the vendor both gaped, wondering if this particular officer had gone mad.

"Let him do a couple and, if he does a decent job, give him some rice. Don't be too stingy. Understand?"

The vendor sputtered. "B-b-b—"

"That's a police order. If he gives you any more trouble, let me know." He released the kid, who stumbled a bit from being suddenly forced to support himself. "And you—kid. Don't act like an idiot… it might become a habit. Do a good job. Got it?"

"Y-yes, sir!"

Jae-shin smiled and ruffled the kid's messy hair before setting off to continue on his morning patrol. Seon-joon caught up with him a moment later.

"Senior! Good morning."

Jae-shin glanced to his side and nodded at his new companion. "Uh-huh."

They walked along in silence for a few moments until Seon-joon remarked, "Yoon-hee wanted me to ask why you cancelled meeting us at our house yesterday."

"No reason—actually," the officer cut himself off, "it's because of my new hours. I'm adjusting to working during the day." He paused. "I hope that stupid senior makes up with his wife soon. Dayshift is boring as hell."

"Well, you caught a thief," the professor pointed out. "It's good to know which officer is tough on crime."

"You saw that, huh?"

"Yes." Seon-joon hesitated before offering, "That was nice of you."

"Well, if I arrested every kid that tried to steal food, the jailhouse would be a nursery."

After a few moments of awkward quiet, Seon-joon asked, "If dayshift is boring, does that mean nightshift is more interesting?"

"Yeah. There's some kid who's started distributing flyers in a couple of parts of town. Poorly-written flyers. She's no poet."

"'_She_'?"

"Yeah. I hiccupped, so…." He shrugged. "Well, I doubt if she'll get caught under that stupid senior's watch. And if she does, she has no business running around rooftops at night, anyhow."

Seon-joon nodded. A few more minutes' worth of silent walking passed before the professor spoke again: "So how's Senior Yong-ha?"

…

"You're walking too slow," Jae-shin suddenly declared. "I'm not out for a stroll—I'm working." He picked up his pace but Seon-joon stuck by him, so he sped up until he was all but jogging down the street.

It was at this point that Seon-joon realized that, just maybe, Jae-shin was trying to get rid of him, so he stopped trying to keep step and called, "I have another class soon, so I'll see you later, Senior."

Jae-shin waved a hand and disappeared down a side street, leaving Seon-joon to wonder what was so conversation-shatteringly horrible about asking after a person's best friend.

Meanwhile, Yoon-hee stopped by Yong-ha's fabric shop to ask if there had been any specific cause for his cancellation. She cleared her throat loudly upon seeing her senior ensconced in several swaths of fabric hanging outside of the store, half-shielding a giggly young woman from the eyes of others.

Yong-ha glanced back and smiled at Yoon-hee, chirping as the giggler's neck reddened, "Ah, Professor Dae-mul! Just a moment while I take care of this lovely customer."

He turned around again, leaving Dae-mul to wonder if he had intentionally minced his sense of shame into nothingness or if he'd simply been born without one as he leaned in to all-but-purr at his client, "Oh, yes, definitely the blue! The color of the ocean is the only one fit to match the depth and beauty of this dainty young lady's eyes…."

The professor looked away and tried not to tap her feet in combined embarrassment and annoyance as Yong-ha completed the sale. She waited until the dewy-eyed puddle of mush had scampered away, fabric and equally giggly servant in tow, before looking at the merchant again.

"Good morning," Yong-ha beamed, sidling up to Yoon-hee and slinging an arm around her shoulder. "What brings you here, hmmm?"

"I was actually wondering why you'd cancelled coming over to have a drink with Seon-joon and me. It seemed like you'd been looking forward to it before."

"Oh, no particular reason." He dragged her forward and, once the hanging fabrics were within reach, took a handful of watermelon-pink material to hold up to Yoon-hee's nose. "Isn't this a gorgeous color? It's from a new shipment. Don't you think it would look _wonderful_ on Ka-rang?"

Knowing that neither she nor Seon-joon had any use for a fabric that seemed quite capable of glowing in the dark, she replied tentatively, "I don't think he needs any new clothes just now."

"Nonsense! Food spoils, but you can store as many clothes as you want until you're ready to wear them!"

Yoon-hee was quiet for a moment or two. Then she asked, "Are you trying to distract me so you don't have to talk about why you cancelled?"

"Ehhh, Dae-mul! Would I do a silly and immature thing like that?"

"…Yes."

Yong-ha made a face. "Aish, what a horribly honest kid."

"Uh, not that you _yourself_ are sil—"

Keeping a firm grip on her shoulder, he whipped her around and hauled her off to a display of ribbons. Once again smiling, he insisted, "Aren't these lovely? The ones on the right are new, too." He picked up a particularly pretty pale green ribbon from the right side of the display and held it up for Yoon-hee to get a better look. "Nice, isn't it?"

Yoon-hee nodded.

"It's so smooth that it's almost like water slipping through your fingers. Feel it."

She compliantly took it when he handed it to her.

"Now it's yours."

Reaching out to put it back, she protested, "I couldn't—"

He took her hand and pushed it back toward her. "Sure you could! And you will. You don't _really_ want to refuse a gift from your senior, do you?"

"O-of course not." She smiled. "Thank you, Senior."

"Hey, don't mention it, Dae-mul! I'm afraid I have to ask you to leave, though." He turned her to face the street and gave her a light shove. "Your beautiful face might intimidate plainer patrons."

And so Yoon-hee departed, feeling slightly embarrassed since she had started off with a question and ended up with what suddenly seemed like a bribe.

**To be continued…**

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Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three:**

**In Which the Investigation Resumes and Yoon-hee is Concerned**

When her seniors still didn't appear to be on the best of terms with each other after nearly a week, Yoon-hee decided to try confronting them about it again. She briefly toyed with the idea of enlisting her husband's help the way she had initially, but figured that she might as well give it a shot herself first. The professor did, however, ask her fellow teacher at breakfast that morning if he, too, had happened to notice that their seniors hadn't talked to each other or otherwise acknowledged the other's existence for several days.

"Well, I haven't seen Senior Yong-ha in a while," Seon-joon answered. "I've been a little busy lately since a couple of students have been asking for help—what are you laughing at?"

Yoon-hee stifled another laugh to ask, "Are you sure that's the _only_ reason you haven't seen him?"

Seon-joon rolled his eyes and gave a sigh of mock-annoyance. "The last time I talked to him alone, he wanted me to tell him how our married life was going."

"He's our senior and our friend. What's wrong with that?"

He arched an eyebrow. "This is Senior Yong-ha we're talking about. Can't you guess which _particular_ aspect of our married life he wanted to hear about?"

"Wha—oh."

"Satisfied, my extraordinarily sympathetic and understanding darling?"

"Yes, dear. Give extra help to as many students as you want."

"Thank you."

"Anyway, how about Senior Jae-shin? Have you seen him?"

"I've run into him around town a couple of times since you asked me to talk to him a few days ago."

"Has he said anything about getting into a fight with Senior Yong-ha?"

Seon-joon frowned in thought. "Not exactly. I've asked after Senior Yong-ha a couple of times since they're supposedly friends but, whenever I ask, he pretty much runs away from me. It's a little strange—then again, he can be moody even in the best of times." He shrugged, smiling a bit. "Are you going to investigate or something?"

Yoon-hee nodded. "Yes, I'm going to after my first class is over."

"Well, go get 'em, Dae-mul."

Resolving to go for the prospectively more rational explanation rather than the over-embellished and potentially half-made-up version, she went to Jae-shin first, joining him for his morning patrol.

"Senior, I don't mean to be nosy, but… are you and Senior Yong-ha alright?"

Jae-shin looked at her out of the corner of his eyes. "We aren't sick or anything. Why?"

"That's not exactly what I meant. I mean, did you get into an argument or something?"

Officer Moon stopped walking. "What?"

Somewhat concerned that he was going to bolt again but figuring that she might as well go on since she'd already brought it up, she continued hesitantly, "It's just that you don't seem very friendly with Senior Yong-ha lately. Is everything okay?"

The officer resumed patrolling, saying flatly, "The less you know, the better. Got it?"

"But—"

"Got it?"

Yoon-hee sighed softly but nodded. "Alright, Senior. If there's anything I can do to be helpful, though, let me know."

"Uh-huh."

Given the extraordinary lack of success she'd met with Jae-shin, Yoon-hee headed over late that afternoon to see if Yong-ha had anything to say about it. If he also declined to talk (again), she'd try to coax Seon-joon into talking to both of them. If that failed (and she was pretty sure it would), she'd give up and just hope that the two of them could sort out whatever-it-was on their own.

"Senior, I was wondering if we could talk a little."

Yong-ha, locking his shop door for the day, peered at her from under the brim of his hat. Once the lock was done, he smiled. Once he'd finished fixing that small grin on his face, he leaned in, bringing his face about as close to hers as he could without their hats touching. Yoon-hee had barely flinched back from the invasion of personal space when Yong-ha was suddenly brushing past her, declaring, "I don't want to."

"Wh-what?" Yoon-hee hurried after him as he sashayed down the street. "Why not? Did I say something wrong?"

"Yeah—you said it too seriously." He bunny-hopped a couple of times and twirled around once before clasping his hands behind his back, gazing about the market with a bright smile and interested eyes as he walked at a somewhat more steady pace. "Serious things bore me."

"But I think it might be important—"

"Eh, Dae-mul! Important things are usually the _most_ boring!"

Resolving that it would be best to simply broach the topic rather than continue her efforts to coax him into agreeing to have the conversation, she offered, "It's about you and Senior Jae-shin."

"Well, why didn't you say so sooner? I couldn't possibly be bored by hearing about myself." He patted the top of Yoon-hee's hat. "You should've saved yourself some trouble and started by saying that in the first place! So! What is it about me and Geol-oh that you wanted to talk about?"

"Well… you don't seem to be getting along very well recently. Are things okay between you two?"

Yong-ha looked pensive. Yes, very pensive indeed. Yoon-hee was just starting to look forward to a sincere, well-thought-out response when he mused, "Say, I haven't seen Ka-rang since we met at that tavern where he got robbed. How is he?"

"Huh? Oh, um, he's fine…"

"You know, sometimes I think he tries to avoid me, that rascal. I can't imagine why! We should meet for drinks again soon. Is he free tomorrow evening?"

"I-I guess so…"

"Wonderful! You have to come, too, of course, and I'll make sure Geol-oh's there. I'll pick you lovebirds up at your place and we can walk to the tavern together—I promise I'll take you to a very nice, clean, reasonably reputable establishment this time."

"Th-that's good to hear, but I think I asked a question and I was wondering if you would mind… well… _answering_ it."

Yong-ha swished his head around conspicuously, placed a hand at the side of his mouth, and leaned toward her to stage-whisper, "I was trying to be subtle about it, but the basic idea is that I wanted to wait until we got to a more secluded spot before I told you."

Yoon-hee's eyes widened. "Oh! Sorry! I didn't realize—"

He waved a hand dismissively. "Ah, don't worry about it. Let's just go to the docks. It should be pretty quiet there by now, right?"

Once there, Yong-ha leaned against one of the wooden posts by the dock as Yoon-hee stood in front of him.

"The evening we went to that tavern Ka-rang hated so much—you remember that Geol-oh took me home? Apparently I'm a rather forthcoming drunk, so I ended up blurting out that I'd had… some _inappropriate_ feelings for him when we were younger."

Yoon-hee tilted her head a bit. "'Inappropriate'? What do you mean?"

Yong-ha pulled himself up to sit on top of the post and put his hands on his knees. "You remember how Ka-rang started falling for you when he still thought you were a man?"

"Well, I—_what_?"

He grinned. "Hey, that's pretty good, Dae-mul! That's almost exactly how Geol-oh reacted before he flipped out."

"Do you still… have those feelings for him?"

"Aigo, don't be silly! That's what erotic novels are good for!"

Yoon-hee frowned. "I—I didn't realize that. That really worked?"

A pause, and then he admitted, "Well, mostly. But I didn't even mention the 'mostly' part and he still hasn't spoken to me in almost a week!" He pondered. "You don't suppose he's trying to decide whether or not to arrest me, do you?"

She shook her head immediately. "You've been friends so long, I doubt if he'd do something like that. Especially if all you did was tell him something you'd thought."

"I'll trust your worthy opinion, Dae-mul! It would be too cruel for him to send me to some revolting jail." He nodded confidently. "Gu Yong-ha doesn't belong in a glorified birdcage!"

"How long do you think it will be before Senior Jae-shin talks to you again?" she asked.

"Who knows? _I_ never would've thought he'd take it this badly in the first place, so apparently I have to rethink my entire mental manual on the behavior of the elusive Geol-oh."

"Have you tried speaking with him?"

"I tried once a couple of days ago, but he ignored me." The merchant pulled a face. "Can you believe that punk? I was practically doing backflips to get his attention and all he did was give me an official warning against disorderly conduct!" He clicked his tongue disapprovingly. "Aish, what a jerk."

Yoon-hee hesitated. "I'd hate to butt in any more than I already have, but is there anything I can do?"

"I don't think so. He'll get over it on his own eventually." He added under his breath, "Or so I assume."

"And you?"

"What about me?"

"Will you be okay? I mean, if you still have feelings—"

"All I feel is that he's my best friend and I want him to stay that way."

Yoon-hee bit her lip and tried to bite her tongue, but couldn't help asking just in case, "Are you sure? If Seon-joon and I—"

"Hey, Dae-mul."

She was a bit concerned at the suddenly firm tone of voice, but he smiled a moment later.

"You worry too much. I've had a lot more practice being friends with Geol-oh than you had being buddies with Ka-rang. Even if I sometimes still have 'feelings', it's fine as long as he's my friend. I'm not about to keel over and die of a broken heart. I'm Gu Yong-ha, remember? Odds are that my clothes would get dirty if I keeled over, and I refuse to die a dirty death!"

She nodded reluctantly.

"Alright." He hopped off the wooden post. "Don't forget to tell Ka-rang we're all going out for drinks tomorrow night, okay?"

As they headed back into town, she asked, "Do you think you'll be able to get Senior Jae-shin to come, or should I try to invite him for you?"

Yong-ha scoffed. "Hey, didn't we just finish going over who I am? I can do it myself."

(And he would indeed do it himself, succeeding after chasing down Jae-shin the next morning and name-dropping Yoon-hee once or twice.)

In the meantime, Yoon-hee went home and found a contemplative Seon-joon sitting at their table, staring at a spot on the wall that seemed singularly unremarkable.

"While you're spaced out and probably not paying complete attention," she announced, sitting down across from him, "I might as well tell you that Senior Yong-ha emphatically invited us out for drinks tomorrow."

He turned his face and blinked at her. "Huh?"

"We're going drinking with our seniors tomorrow evening."

"Oh… sure." He went back to contemplating, leaving Yoon-hee somewhat perplexed by his easy acceptance.

"Wait, aren't you the same fellow who admitted just this morning that he was trying to avoid Senior Yong-ha? Did you even hear what I said?"

She waved a hand in front of his face and, when that didn't grab his attention, picked up an apple from the table and threw it at his shoulder.

"Ow! Alright, I'm here! I'm paying attention!" He rubbed the wounded area for a moment before returning the apple to its original position. "I bought those for you, by the way, my delicate, gentle little flower," her husband added, gesturing to the assortment of fruits in a bowl at the center of the table setting. "I foolishly thought you'd eat them instead of turning them into projectile weapons."

Yoon-hee smiled. "That was very nice of you, dear. Did you hear what I said before?"

He hesitated before offering sheepishly, "I know there was something about Senior Yong-ha…"

"He's going to drag us off to go drinking tomorrow. It's a done deal, so don't try to get out of it. Now, what were you thinking about so hard?" she concluded before he could protest the plans for the following evening.

"Is Senior Jae-shin coming?"

"I think so."

He sighed—in surrender, she assumed, until he said, "I suppose that's good. I don't know about Senior Yong-ha, but there's definitely something going on with Senior Jae-shin."

Yoon-hee, deciding that she should operate under the assumption that Yong-ha expected her not to spread around what they had discussed, feigned ignorance of the situation and replied, "Really? What makes you think that?"

"I ran into him again while I was buying the fruit." A bemused frown crossed his face. "He kept asking me strange questions. They were pretty personal, which is weird since he's not usually that nosy. Especially if it's something that has to do with me."

She joined him in frowning. "What kind of questions?"

"He asked when I started to like you, and how I could've fallen for you when I thought you were a guy. I didn't really think that was any of his business, but he was so pushy that I told him I must've been attracted to your personality and brains. And your pretty face, of course."

"He didn't mention Senior Yong-ha at all?"

"No, but since you were worried that they might've gotten into an argument, I asked about him again for you."

She leaned in a bit. "And?"

"That was the most bizarre part, actually. He started mumbling about not wanting to have to arrest the bas—I-I mean, Senior Yong-ha! The other word was what Senior Jae-shin used. Do you know if Senior Yong-ha did something wrong?"

"No. Nothing illegal, at any rate. …Well, not more illegal than usual. Was there anything else?"

He shook his head. "After that it was déjà vu from last time: he made some half-baked excuse and escaped my insightful line of questioning." A small, stiff bow. "Investigator Lee Seon-joon reporting. End of report, Ma'am!"

Yoon-hee chuckled. "Thanks for trying."

Seon-joon smiled. "No problem. Now let's forget about them until tomorrow, okay?" He picked up an apple and held it out to her. "Have some. Try _eating_ it this time."

**To be continued…**

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Thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter Four

And here's the last installment, because if I continued it, it would turn into a romance story. And I can't write romance, as you could probably guess from some of those cringe-worthy conversations between Yoon-hee and Seon-joon. I hope you enjoy...

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**Chapter Four:**

**In Which the Jalgeum Quartet Visits a Slightly Less Seedy Tavern and Jae-shin Stares**

As arranged, Yong-ha stopped by the following evening to pick up Yoon-hee and Seon-joon, leading them to an establishment that appeared to be a marginal improvement over the last place he'd chosen. It was much cleaner than his previous pick and the cushions on the floor were more comfortable than they seemed, but Seon-joon had some suspicions about the scowling man who did something vaguely akin to welcoming them.

Unfazed by the man whom Seon-joon was fairly certain had spent a previous lifetime strangling kittens and ripping wings off butterflies, Yong-ha ordered a couple of bottles of alcohol as he and the professors took an empty table. Once the intoxicants had been delivered, Yoon-hee asked, "Isn't Senior Jae-shin coming?"

Yong-ha took on an affronted posture. "Why? My company isn't enough for you?"

"Er—"

"He'll be here soon enough. Meanwhile—" He picked up his cup, and Yoon-hee accordingly poured her senior a drink. "—we might as well start enjoying ourselves." After finishing his own drink, he poured some for each of the professors.

Seon-joon was just in the process of swallowing when Yong-ha demanded, "Hey, Ka-rang, why have you been avoiding me?"

Yoon-hee clapped her husband on the back as he choked on the liquor and Yong-ha made a commendably poor attempt to look apologetic. She answered for the still-sputtering Seon-joon, "He's been busy with students lately."

"Oh, that's good. It was starting to look like you were the only one who cared about me anymore, Dae-mul!"

It was at that moment that Jae-shin came into view, plopping down onto the cushion next to Yong-ha since that was the only seat available. Yong-ha cheerfully prepared to pour something to drink for the new arrival, but Jae-shin pulled his cup away and poured some for himself from the bottle that the others hadn't yet started on.

Once Jae-shin had downed the drink, Yong-ha asked point-blank, "So have you decided to forgive me yet?"

"Shut up."

"Why? I told you that it was all in the past." He looked to Yoon-hee and Seon-joon. "Right?"

Yoon-hee nodded and Seon-joon frowned. The latter rejoined, "Am I supposed to know what you're talking about, Senior?"

"Yeah—I told you about it when you were asking for advice on your relationship with Dae-mul. I even gave you my super-secret cure-all solution."

Jae-shin's eyes widened. "Are you trying to tell me that you've been telling what you told me_ to other people_?"

Yong-ha took a moment to unravel that question. "Well, no, I wasn't trying to tell you that, but it seems like that's an unintended side-effect. Oopsy."

Yoon-hee leaned a little closer to Seon-joon and whispered, "Are you trying to tell me that you asked Senior Yong-ha for advice on—well—_anything_?"

Seon-joon smiled sheepishly and whispered back, "It was a while ago and I was desperate… ah!" He turned to Jae-shin. "Is that what you were talking about yesterday? About not wanting to arrest Senior Yong-ha for possessing illegal books? Because, considering how many he has, it could probably add up to a death sentence."

Everyone stared at him. Yoon-hee blurted, "_What_?"

"That—that last part was a joke…"

Jae-shin, looking quite appalled, shook his head pityingly. Yong-ha clucked his tongue and admonished, "Aish, Ka-rang, I don't think you should be allowed to do that! Joking, I mean. You almost gave me a heart attack!"

Seon-joon apologized for his grave error and tried not to look overly humiliated by the miserable failure that had once been his joke. He tried to cover his embarrassment by pressing on with, "Then the 'all in the past' thing you were referring to—was it about your… previous feelings toward Senior Jae-shin?"

Yong-ha smiled at Seon-joon's having figured it out. "Good for you, Ka-rang! That deserves a drink." He poured some for the professor, and Seon-joon politely drank it before speaking again.

"If that's the problem you've been having with Senior Yong-ha," he said to Jae-shin, "I don't think you really need to worry. He said that he was over it." Seon-joon looked to his wife. "Didn't he?"

"…Yes."

Now, Seon-joon accepted this at face value and nodded confidently to Jae-shin. Jae-shin, on the other hand, thought that she had taken just half a second too long to reply and he accordingly applied the Stare Test:

He stared at Yoon-hee, and she should have looked at him to acknowledge his attention.

Instead, she quickly shifted her gaze to her lap.

He kept staring and she should have asked if there was something on her face, if there was something she was expected to do, etc.

Instead, she squirmed awkwardly in her seat and pulled uncomfortably at the hat ribbon tied under her chin.

Kim Yoon-hee: Stare Test—Fail.

In keeping with the results of his very scientific experiment, Jae-shin turned to Yong-ha. "How can you not be over it? Huh? Why is there even anything for you to get over? I thought you liked visiting the gisaengs."

"Sure, but you're prettier than they are when you shave—aigo!" He rolled over to the side, evading the swipe Jae-shin took at his arm. "I was kidding—kidding! I do that, remember?" He propped an elbow up on the officer's shoulder and added, "Don't worry. You still look pretty when you don't shave. And I know you still love me."

_Shove!_

"I meant as a friend! Yeesh, you're so touchy!"

"I'm not touchy. I'm being reasonable. Considering what you told me, you can't blame me."

Yong-ha, still reclining after having been pushed, considered this for a moment. "Well, I could, but you'd probably try to smack me again so I won't. Really—I've always said stuff like this to you and you usually don't push me that hard."

"That was before—"

"That's not going to change anything! Not unless you let it, anyway!" Yong-ha paused, bringing a smile to his face to counteract the exasperation that had somehow slipped out. "Listen." He sat up again. "It doesn't matter _why_ there was ever anything to get over, because it _is_ over. Alright?"

Jae-shin cast a skeptical glance in Yoon-hee's direction.

"Just pretend I never said anything in the first place." He grabbed Jae-shin's hand, put a cup into it, and filled it to the brim. "Have a drink and let's stop arguing in front of the kids before they get traumatized or something."

"The kids" looked suitably uncomfortable: it had been bad enough when they'd had to sit across from their seniors and try to be invisible, but it was somehow worse now that they were suddenly rendered visible again.

"Oh—uh—don't mind us," Yoon-hee stuttered out. "As long as everything gets sorted—actually, did you want us to leave?"

"Nah, we're all sorted. Right, Geol-oh?"

Jae-shin downed the drink Yong-ha had given (or forced upon) him. "Whatever. Just don't think about other guys _that_ way."

"Why? Would that make you jealous?" He automatically ducked back in anticipation of a shove or punch of some kind, but Jae-shin instead studied the inside of his empty cup as he replied:

"I just don't want to walk in on anything and have to pretend I didn't see it so I don't have to arrest you." He shifted his gaze to Yong-ha. "Yeo-rim. I'm your friend first, but I'm still an officer. I'll keep my mouth shut and even cover up for you if I need to, but don't go around making things hard for me. Got it?"

Yong-ha beamed. "When have I ever made things hard for you, huh?"

"Hey, you bas—"

"Tut, tut, Officer! There's a Dae-mul present!"

Jae-shin flicked his eyes over to Yoon-hee and muttered an apology.

Yoon-hee smiled. "That's okay." She winked at Seon-joon. "I think I'm getting used to hearing that half of a word." Looking back to Jae-shin, she asked, "So are you going to be okay now, Senior?"

A nod, and he looked at Yoon-hee as he said, "I… probably overreacted. A little. But it's alright. We've been friends a long time. We're fine."

Yong-ha, knowing that this halting little speech was probably for his benefit rather than Yoon-hee's, stretched his arms and one of them _somehow_ ended up around Jae-shin's shoulders. "Aigo!" When, to his delight, that arm didn't get shrugged off, he added, "Our friend Geol-oh! I missed you! Did you miss me, too?"

Jae-shin rolled his eyes and smirked, "Sure. Like I miss a bug that's flown away after buzzing around my head for an hour."

Yong-ha swatted the back of his head. "Aish!"

"Alright, fine. It was weird not having you around. Happy?"

As Jae-shin poured a drink for Yong-ha ("But this is your last one—got it, Yeo-rim?"), Yoon-hee whispered to her husband, "At least things seem to be settled."

He whispered back, "Yes, and thanks to things being unsettled in the first place, we even got out of playing host!"

She chuckled. "That's mean of you!"

"Can I help it if I like having a little sanctuary for just the two of us?"

"Hey, Dae-mul, Ka-rang," Yong-ha broke in, switching his attention away from his drink and Jae-shin. "We still haven't gotten to see your place. When are you going to re-invite us?"

And so Yoon-hee set to re-inviting them over as Seon-joon valiantly convinced himself that it would be too selfish to hope his seniors had another falling-out.

**The (Lazy) End**

(Because I can't write endings and the last time I rewrote the ending to this story, it somehow grew three chapters.)

Thanks so much for reading through to the end!


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